


Bright Light

by Metal_Serpent



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Female Protagonist, Nonbinary Frisk (Undertale), Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:38:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23483194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metal_Serpent/pseuds/Metal_Serpent
Summary: You are an introverted tomboy who tries to be social but fails miserably. But with your close group of three friends you don't mind that much. Neither does the fact that you've been single your whole life. But when you meet a certain fiery gentleman things start to change.
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Asgore Dreemurr/Toriel, Grillby (Undertale)/Reader
Comments: 15
Kudos: 50





	1. A Normal Day

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I don't know what I'm doing but I'm doing it!  
> I've read multiple fanfics and I absolutely love them so I thought that maybe writing one of my own would be fun.  
> I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes. And if you have any up-building criticism I would love to hear it!  
> Lastly, updates WON'T be regular at all. But who knows? Maybe with the whole quarantine I'll put more time in this.  
> And now....enjoy..

9:00 AM  
Your alarm wakes up a groggy 24-year old. Reaching for your phone you contemplate whether you should hit the snooze button or not. So, following your mother's advice of waking up when you wake up, you turn the alarm off and gets up. Already missing the comfortable position, you sit at the edge of your bed for a little while.  
After maybe a minute or two you decide to face today's events while going to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. It's not liked the coffee will help your wake up though, you just like the taste. While waiting for the water to boil you recollect what has to be done today. It's Sunday meaning no school however homework is still a thing so you'll have to check that. And then there's your part-time job from 7 PM to 1 AM. Luckily classes start later on Mondays giving the students time to recover from whatever hangover they got from the weekend. You snicker at the memory of your dad saying that, knowing he probably did the same thing and more.  
With the blessing of a cup of coffee in your hands, you walk around the apartment a little bit. It's smaller than you initially thought it was going to be, but since you live alone it's a small blessing. It's cosy and you try to keep it clean. Key-word: try. At moments you can keep it decent but by the next week it's like a tornado came through the place. But again, you live alone so who cares?

You look at the calendar on your wall and see that you had plans with your friends today at 2 o'clock. The clock on the microwave says your wake-up routine took about 7 minutes. Slurping your dirty bean water, you head back to your room. Putting the cup on your bedside-table you take some clean clothes from the closet and change into them. It was nothing much, just a tee of (favourite band), some black jeans and a red, plaid shirt. After your last sip of pure heaven, you put on some deodorant and brush your hair.  
If you wanted to be on time for hanging out with your friends you had to start studying soon so you did the other necessities like grabbing a small breakfast and brushing your teeth (although not as long as you should). There wasn't much to study for so that was a relief.  
A couple hours went by and you wrote the last words of the assignment. Your watch showed it was 12:30, giving plenty of time to have some lunch and getting ready to meet up at the park. Lunch consisted of cup noodles because you didn't want to put the time nor effort into making something decent. While scrolling on your phone and eating the "dish" you got a message from Tyler.

-Tyler-  
heeeeey  
howzit goin  
youre comin right?

-You-  
hi  
im good you?  
and yes im coming dont worry. at the bridge right?

It took him awhile to reply giving you time to finish the last piece of your food.

-Tyler-  
yup! be there or be square biatch ;p

You snickered at his reply. His sassy attitude nearly always cheers you up and gives you energy. With a little more scrolling through social media the clock hit 1 PM signalling that you should get ready and leave. So, you stand up, throw the empty cup in the trash and head back to your room to get your accessories. You're not going to change since you thought it's not necessary and it isn't. You put in your earrings and look for your glasses. At home you don't wear at unless you’re watching TV but you might need them outside so you put them on.  
Before leaving you take a look at your figurine collection. It's not big but not small either. And you're determined to fill the small bookshelf you display them in. You love the diversity as well, ranging from slice of live animes to gory and horror movies. Though since your parents don't really know anything from the shows you watch they'll just buy some figurine leading to you having a couple of doubles.

Anyway, after showing your admiration you put on some shoes and leave. Even though it's only 1:15 and the walk to the park is 5 to 10 minutes you take your keys and phone and head down the stairs. You live on the second floor so to you there's no need to use the elevator. After a couple of minutes, you arrive at the park and look for the bridge. Once there you look at the time seeing you still have about half an hour untill your friends arrive. You take this time to walk around and admire the scenery. People-watching has also become a small hobby of yours. You see small children playing tag or something, mothers chatting with each other, fathers amusing their kids by joining their silly games, couples of various age groups holding hands, exchanging small kisses every now and then. You smile to yourself and think this would be a beautiful picture to paint. The people smiling, the sun peeking through the leaves and blossoms of the trees, flowers of all colours blooming. Spring is a beautiful season.  
Some time passes and you return to the bridge, your friends arriving shortly after.

"Y/N! Hey, how are you?" Izzy asks.

She's the other girl in your group. Full name: Isabelle but she prefers Izzy so everyone calls her that. The girl is dressed up in a white blouse and a yellow, flowy skirt with orange accents coming to her knees. With her dirty blond hair lose she looks amazing like always. Spring is definitely her season.

"Let me guess you waited an hour for us, didn't you" Jason adds, laughing.

"Actually, it was only half an hour." you retorted, smiling.

Jason is the first friend you made here. You guys met about a year ago in college. He approached you and just kept coming back so you became friends.  
Besides that, he is Izzy's boyfriend and it was hard to miss that fact. Looking down a bit you see their fingers intertwined with each other. Their personalities complement each other and same goes for their looks. Jason had short, brown hair and a T-shirt with some jeans. Plain and simple is sort of their style but they look good.

"Hey! Don't forget about me!" Tyler said, trying to look angry with a pouty face.

"Who's he?" you asked, making everyone laugh. "Hey Tyler."

"Hi Y/N."

Tyler was your best friend. Even though he was nearly the polar opposite of you, the two of you hit it off almost immediately. And with that bubbly character came also the clothes he wore. Tyler is gay and not afraid to show it and you all loved that about him. He wore an off-shoulder shirt that was a pastel blue with little paw prints. Dark ripped jeans finished the look together with his jewellery and bleached hair with light blue highlights.

"So, did you take that guy home from last week?" Izzy joked.

"Actually," Tyler couldn't hide the enormous smile on his face, “he’s my boyfriend now!"

"No way! That's amazing man!"

"Yeah! I'm happy for you dude."

"Thanks guys."

He was so happy about the fact he had a boyfriend again; his excitement became contagious.

"Have you found anyone yet, Y/N?" Jason asked.

"Nope, sorry to disappoint."

"Seriously? Do you even want a boyfriend?" Izzy activated "mom-mode".

"Umm I don't really care honestly."

"Well what about a girlfriend?" Tyler wiggled his eyebrows.

"Same thing, mate. Sorry." you gave him a smile.

"It's fine but we just worry sometimes, you know?" Izzy answered.

"Don't worry, but could we maybe drop the topic?" you asked.

"Sure! I'm hungry anyway. You guys wanna go eat somewhere?" Tyler said. "I know a great place."

You all agreed and followed Tyler to a lovely bakery. It was painted a deep purple with lighter purple accents. It looked cosy and when you stepped inside your theory got confirmed. And not only did it look amazing but the smell too. That's when you saw the actual food. And By the gods did you just want to buy everything then and there. Tyler noticed the look in your eyes and smiled "I know right! It all looks and smell so good but just you wait until you actually eat it. It's like entering heaven!"  
You proceed to the counter for your orders and you notice a spider-lady there. Ever since monsters surfaced a few years back they had been fighting for their rights. And when they did, businesses run by them have been doing a lot better. She noticed you guys coming up and immediately flashed a smile. "Hi there! Can I get you guys anything? Fuhuhu~" You ordered a spider-donut and some cookies. Jason got the same as you and Izzy a cupcake instead of the donut. Tyler got a slice of cake and a waffle. You paid for your own even though Tyler was insisting on paying for you all. After saying goodbye to who you learned to be Muffet, you left and found a bench to sit at. Once seated you all took a bite. It... was...AMAZING. God had it been a long time you were able to eat something as delicious as this. You couldn't help but wiggle your feet out of excitement.

"I think Y/N likes it guys." Izzy laughed.

"Like?! No no no I love it!" you said while taking another bite. "How can something as simple as a donut be so good?"

They all laughed and kept munching on their own pastries. You guys talked about stuff like family and school. You and Jason both follow an art major. Jason does digital art and you major in costume design. Izzy and Tyler are in the same school as well both following medical courses. Izzy wants to become a doctor while Tyler is aiming to become a vet.

"Wow I just came with the best idea." Tyler suddenly said. "So, you know that I have a boyfriend now, right? Well normally I was going to this event next weekend. However, it's a speed-dating event and I have Mark now so there's no need for me to participate anymore right? But maybe Y/N could go instead of me!"

"Um I don't-"

"That's a great idea!"

"Wait, no I-"

"Yeah you're right!"

"Guys can I-"

"Then it's decided! Y/N you're-"

"Can I have a say in this?" you raised your voice only slightly, but it was enough to get their attention. They were a bit shocked and apologized.

"But Y/N, can't you see the opportunity in it?" Izzy tried to reason.

"I thought I said I'm not interested in relationships at the moment?" you retorted.

"'At the moment' you say but for how long have you been single Y/N? Or should I remind you of how old you are since it's the same number?"

You fell silent.

"Listen I'm sorry but you have to understand where I come from right?"

"Yeah"

"Hey," Jason interjected, “how about, instead of looking for a partner you could use it as a social exercise. You always say how hard it is to talk to new people so why not try to improve?"

"I-" you tried to come up with an excuse for not going but couldn't. In defeat you replied "Yeah you're right, I guess."

The three of them seemed to light up a bit with small smiles.  
"Great! I'll text you the time and location." Tyler said.

You gave a small, defeated smile.  
"Oh c'mon, it won't be that bad." he said," I promise."

You all got rid of your trash and headed back to the park when you looked at your watch.  
"Ah shit! Sorry guys but I gotta go!" I said while already heading home at 5:40. They looked at eachother and nodded, understanding. 'I'm lucky to have friends that put up with my time bullshit' you thought to yourself. You had it very difficult with being late resulting in you always being at least twenty minutes early for most things. At home you took your bag and got ready for work. Your uniform and utensils all somewhat neatly put away, you took them and put them in your bag. Drinking some water and bringing some, you got ready to leave again. You checked your phone for any notifications of any importance.

-Tyler-  
next saturday 5 pm at muffet's sweets  
have fun ;p

You rolled your eyes. 'Great. Have that to look forward to now.' And with that you left for work.  
Again, you were way too early since the animal shelter you work at is only 15 minutes away. Luckily your co-workers have gotten used to this habit and let you gladly help them out the last 30 minutes of their shifts. You greet them and go to the back to put your stuff away and change into your work-attire. You were a nightguard taking first watch so the uniform was nothing too special. Some black cargo pants and a matching jacket. You put your hair in a bun and went out to help your colleagues.

“Hey! The dogs in the back need fresh bowl of water. Do you mind?” Cassidy, your manager, asked.

“On it.” You replied curtly.

You loved animals. It’s why you took this job in the first place. The establishment handles various animals; cats, dogs, rabbits, fish, birds and finally snakes. You adored snakes and wanted one of your own together with a dog. Though with school you don’t think you would have enough time to take care of both. Besides, you think you’re probably not responsible enough for that yet.  
Arriving at the dogs you took their bowls and refilled them, giving pats while doing so. Most dogs were pretty old here, but the couple of younglings were hyper as fuck. Jumping, yipping, licking, it never ended. You saw there was some time left before the store closed and your shift started. You used it to look at the reptiles. With permission of your manager, you took one of them out of their cage to hold it. It was one of the younger snakes, a beautiful yet blind Atlantic central American milk snake named Murky. He was your favourite of them all and you think that feeling was mutual. Cassidy once told me that Murky would try to get out of people’s hands and would not stay on anyone’s shoulders, so she was surprised when he was calmer with me around.

Anyway, the store closed and you put Murky back in his terrarium. you told Cassidy and Ryan goodbye and locked up the store. you just kind of sat in the security room watching the cameras for anything unusual, making patrol every now and then to check the animals are alright. Most of them were asleep but some were still awake, mostly the reptiles. you watched them a bit like you always do but didn’t linger too long. Your shift went by rather fast with nothing special happening.  
Your shift ended at 1 AM and your commute back home was uneventful as ever. Most people warn you to not walk home alone that late but you didn’t care. Never ever happened to you and you doubt something ever will.  
Back at home you get ready for bed and drift away to dreamland only to awake the next day for class. You sigh once more and closed your eyes. A nagging little voice in the back of your head ‘be prepared for next Saturday’.


	2. A Normal Day For Someone Else

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your week went by like usually, nothing special in particular happening.  
> But a certain fire elemental wasn't expecting to be roped in a similar situation as you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! It's me ya boii. So this is gonna be from Grillby's perspective just so you know. Also it's shorter than the previous chapter so apologies for that.

Another day, another dollar.

Grillby closed up the bar and headed upstairs to his home. While changing into something a bit more comfortable than his work attire, he recollected what had happened during this day.  
When he woke up, he was already more tired than usual causing him to be in a bit of a bad mood. Besides that, he burned his breakfast which doesn’t happen easily if you work in the culinary district. He thought of not opening the bar, but decided against it. A few small set backs won’t stop him from serving his customers. He heard a door open and look to see the culprit of the sound and found his daughter Fuku exiting her room.  
“Morning dad.” She said, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “Morning sweetheart. Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah. Umm what’s that smell?”

Before Grillby could answer, Fuku saw the eggs that were beyond edible. She gave her father a worried look but he waved it off, reassuring her that he just hasn’t fully woken up yet.  
She sighed and retreated to her room to get ready for the day. Tuesday would’ve normally been a school day but apparently the students got the day off for some reason Grillby can’t remember. Fuku was going to hang out at a friend’s house so she wouldn’t be home for the majority of the day. Both monsters got ready at their own pace. Grillby tried making breakfast again and made something decent. Not like it was hard; some toast and coffee for him and a glass of orange juice for his daughter. Fuku came yet again in the kitchen, ate her breakfast and took an apple for the road. After saying goodbye to her dad, the house felt a bit quieter. Grillby took his time getting ready since the bar didn’t open until 6:30 PM and with no other plans before he could take it easy this morning.

Time went by a bit too slow to his liking and it didn’t help that when he tried to make a new drink, it failed miserably. The clock hit 5 PM and Fuku hadn’t returned home yet. Like every father would, he called her up to see when she would be coming home.  
The phone rung once.

Twice

Click

“Yeah dad? Something wrong?”

“No, I was just wondering when you’d come home.”

“Oh, actually I’m having dinner with SG and her parents if that’s alright with you?”

“SG?”

“Skater Girl, dad.”

“Well alright then just be home before 11 alright?”

“Yay! Thanks dad! I will.”

“Alright then, have fun. Love you”

“Love you too dad bye.”

And with that she hung up. Grillby sighed and slowly gathered his stuff to start his night at the bar. His attire consisted of the usual things you see bartenders wear; a white shirt underneath a black vest and a matching bowtie. All this topped of with nice and shiny black dress shoes. He went downstairs and before unlocking the door, he put several menus at the booths and already took some of the bottles of their shelfs. The moment he turned the sign from ‘closed’ to ‘open’ he expected for a certain monster to pop up from a blue light. Yet nothing. He brushed it of and returned to his position behind the bar. And like always customers slowly started coming in. since it was still early in the evening, nobody really got anything too strong and mostly just came for a bite to eat.

At 10:30 the person he was semi expecting showed up. Though he was filled with confusion when another, taller skeleton accompanied his best friend. They walked up to the bar and Grillby greeted them.

“Hello Sans. And Papyrus too.”

“hey grillbz. can i get the usual please?”

“GREETINGS GRILLBY!”

The bartender got Sans his fix of ketchup, still slightly confused. Of course, the skeleton noticed and explained. “paps is goin to this event and we thought it’d be a good idea to ask if you wanna join him.”

“YES CERTAINLY! EVEN THOUGH I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, COULD EASILY GO ON MY OWN, THE EVENT REQUIRES AN EVEN NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS AND THE ORGANISORS ASKED IF SOMEONE COULD PERHAPS BRING SOMEONE EXTRA. SO OF COURSE, I JUMP TO THE RESCUE AND HOPE TO BRING PERHAPS YOU WITH ME SINCE SANS ALREADY REFUSED.”

“yup”

Grillby was a little overwhelmed by the request and had to think about it for a bit.

“oh, c’mon grillbz, it’s gonna be lit, promise.”

“Why do you not go?”

“don’t wanna.”

“Then why should I? Not to be rude.”  
Grillby was slightly worried he might have upset the younger skeleton, but he was checking out the juke box so there was no point in worrying over that.

“paps really wants this so could you just do this for me? as a favour. i’ll owe you one.”

“Pay your tab”

Sans sighed and actually contemplated whether or not he should. While he did so, Grillby served some other customers. It was coming close to midnight meaning more and more people looking for a drink will come flooding. Grillby’s was one of the most popular bars in this part of town. And surprisingly both monsters and humans would agree with that. Not that anyone is complaining, it’s nice that humans have started coming around about the whole ‘sharing the surface with monsters’ thing. Anyway, when Grillby returned to the pondering skeleton he was greeted with an unexpected answer.

“sure”

This stunned Grillby beyond words. Sans, the lazy, pun-making skeleton he knew for years, was actually going to pay his tab? He couldn’t believe it!  
“however, i’m not paying the full thing at once. if i did my savings account would be bone-dry.” he snickered. “but i’ll do it in small amounts, aight?”

Without much hesitation Grillby agreed, catching the skeleton off guard. Even if it’s only a bit at a time Grillby is eccentric about the fact Sans is actually paying his tab. Shortly after Papyrus returned to the two friends.

“SO GRILLBY, DO YOU ACCEPT MY OFFER?”  
A quick, confirming glance at Sans and Grillby spoke. “Sure. I have one question though. What is this event we’re attending?”

“UMM I THOUGHT IT WAS CALLED ‘SPEED-DATING’! AND IT’S THIS SATURDAY!”

Grillby choked on his own flaming saliva upon hearing this. A speed-dating event?! Why in the world would the sweet and innocent Papyrus even attend such thing? He looked at Sans and suddenly he looked more like the devil than a skeleton with that shit-eating grin of his.

“no take backs. this is gonna be flametastic.”

“UGH SANS COULD YOU NOT?!”

“sorry bro i don’t wanna burnden you with my ashtounding puns.”

“UUUUUGGGGGHHHHH”

The irritated skeleton left the bar while the remaining one’s grin kept growing. Not much later Sans left as well to read Paps his bedtime story. It was nearing midnight and this worried Grillby. Not because the more drunken customers that are bar-hopping will arrive or that some drunkard is going to cause a scène and potentially a mess. No, it was the fact Fuku wasn’t home yet. She said she would be home by 11 yet she isn’t here. If she had gone through the back, she would’ve let him know by texting him or peeking through the ‘personnel only’ door. But nothing. The fiery father went around for refills one more time only to slip to the kitchen and calling his daughter. He waited for a reply only to be disappointed with a voicemail and of course he got worried. He called multiple times until suddenly the back door opened revealing a green flamey girl. Not caring about anything else he walked over to her. Fuku expected her father to start lecturing her and telling her to go to her room, but instead she got a hug. Immediately she put her arms around him and hugged back still somewhat shaken by what had happened. When they let go and looked each other in the eyes they shared a silent conversation and with a final nod from Grillby, Fuku went upstairs to their home.

Grillby wanted nothing else than to close the bar and go talk to his daughter, though that would be a bit rude to just abruptly do so. But after maybe an hour or so he decided that it would be alright now and luckily the customers understood and gladly left. Normally Grillby would clean up a bit but his daughter was his number one priority. Always. He went to their condo and not seeing her in the living room he went to her bedroom. He knocked on the teenager’s door and heard a quiet ‘come in’. Grillby did so and saw his daughter lying in herbed. He sat at her feet and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. Fuku looked up at her father and gave a weak smile.

“What happened?”

The question she anticipated slipped his mouth. The girl took a deep breath in and out before talking.

“There… there was this creepy guy.”  
Grillby’s flames started flickering more vigorously, his blood starting to boil.

“But didn’t do anything. This lady helped me out, so he didn’t even have a chance to approach me.”  
When looking in her father’s eyes, she could see the slight doubt.

“Dad, I’m serious. I’m fine and nothing actually happened. It was just scary.”  
Grillby could hear the genuinity in her voice and trusted her.

“Alright if you say so.”

Seeing his daughter still shaken up by the incident he left her bedroom to fetch a cup of tea to help her calm down. When he returned her eyes were closed and she was fast asleep. Not wanting to waste the tea he drank it himself before going back downstairs to clean up the establishment he had hurriedly left. Sweeping the floor, washing the glasses and plates, cleaning the tables and counter, it all had a certain calming effect on him. After finishing the last tasks, he turned off the lights and climbed up the stairs. In his room he changed into his pj’s which is just his underwear. Before his head hit his pillow, he looked one last time at his phone to see two unread messages.

-Sans-  
saturday 5 pm at muffets  
who knows maybe you’ll find your burning desire?

Reminded by the upcoming event he drifted of to sleep. Maybe Sans is right. Who knows what’ll happen?


	3. The Day Has Come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Saturday, the day of the event. You try not to think about it and go on with the rest of your day like normal.  
> But when you return from work you find a surprise at your door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AH nothing happened in this chapter so I'm sorry if it seems kinda like filler.  
> But thank you guys for the super nice comments and kudo's! I really appreciate them!

Your alarm didn’t have a chance to go off since you turned it off a few minutes before it was supposed to. Immediately you got out of bed and changed into some sweatpants and a shirt you took from your dad. It was big on you but most clothes in your closet were. However, this shirt was baggier than the others, so knowing how to dress at least somewhat decent, you don’t wear this in public. You didn’t feel sleepy at all especially considering you hadn’t closed your eyes the entire night. Yup, it didn’t surprise you though, ever since you were younger sleepless nights were a reoccurring thing. Not like the happened every week or something, just now and then.

In the kitchen you grab a bowl and a spoon. Seeing as how the box of cereal already stood ready on your counter, you only had to grab some milk. Being the smart and efficient human being that you are, you put on some water to boil. You took your time following the simple steps it took to prepare your breakfast so that the moment you finished the water would be done boiling and ready to use for a nice cup of coffee. You liked to have breakfasts like these. Even though they were simple, they not only reminded you of your childhood but in the week, you don’t bother in the morning because of school. You never really had and you’d usually take a quick bite like a piece of bread.  
While enjoying your food you thought about what the day has offered for you. It was currently 9:15 meaning you had almost an hour and a half before leaving for your other job that started at 11. Besides being a nightguard you also help out in a library. You deliberately chose for those jobs because one; you liked them, two; they payed decently and three; they were situated pretty close to your accommodation. You got off at two so you had about three hours until the speed-dating thing. You sighed remembering your ‘social interaction exercise’. You had never gone to such an event and don’t know how those things go. Are there special regulations? What if you do something dumb? What if they didn’t want you there? Oh god you’re going to mess this up, aren’t you? You- No. To prevent yourself from going down further down that rabbit hole you decided to get some cleaning done before leaving. You did the dishes, cleaned your room and picked up all the dirty laundry. You noticed the time and dressed in something more casual. Some black jeans and another plaid shirt will do. You loved your plaid. You had one for everyday for the week and your father had decided to just give you one for your birthday every year. Putting on your combat boots, you took your keys and left.

10:30 AM

You arrived at the library and went straight to the back. Your job wasn’t much, just putting returned books in their respective places and keeping the place clean after your shift. On Saturdays the library closes at 2 so that’s when you’ll get off as well. In the beginning you expected there to be little to no customers since the internet is a thing. However, you were pleasantly surprised by the amount of people that still use the place’s services. Of course, it’s not booming and most are just here for some school project, there were also quite some younglings going around. The library (on your request) has started a reading hour. This entailed that from 12 to 1 o’clock children could come and listen to a story being read. Now because it was your idea, your manager put you in charge of entertaining the kids. Not that you complained, quite the contrary even, you liked children and loved to spend time with them. You looked at the returned books and checked where they had to go. There weren’t that many so you just took them all in your hand after writing their correct locations on a paper. And so, you started working. When you were almost done you saw two monsters walk in and greeted them with a smile.

“Hey Alphys, Papyrus.”  
Alphys returned your greeting with a nervous smile and a small wave before heading off to the science section. Papyrus however greeted you with a as hushed voice as he can. It’s still a library after all.

“GREETING Y/N. HOW ARE YOU?”

“I’m fine thanks. And you?”

“I’M DOING FANTASTIC THANK YOU FOR ASKING!”  
He then proceeded to look around a bit, probably to kill time until 12. Papyrus much like other children came here for story time. The kids didn’t care he was a skeleton or that he was technically not a kid anymore. The parents on the other hand were a bit weirded out but with a little convincing with some of them, they quickly accepted him and those who didn’t just went looking for another library. Both he and Alphys were pretty much regulars by now. They were very nice and just proved your point further on how amazing monster kind is.  
You placed the last books on the right shelfs and headed to the cosy corner loved by little humans and monsters alike. As expected, some children had gathered on the floor, anticipating your entrée. The moment they could see you, their faces lit up with smiles brighter than the sun. Your heart warmed at this, the way that you could make these kids so happy. While waiting for some other potential audience you greeted the small ones and chatted with them. Eventually leading to the topic of which book you should read today, though you were pretty sure what the answer was going to be.

“Harry Potter!” most chimed.  
Last week you had mentioned that the library was getting the children’s edition of the book series and most of the kids were very excited about the news. You chuckled, could’ve guessed the recommendation, and went to grab the book. When you sat back down and opened the book you saw papyrus entering and taking a place on the floor. The others greeted him with happy smiles getting the same from the tall skeleton.

The hour went by quickly, doing silly voices in horrible British accents. You bookmarked the page where you were at so you could resume next week. You said your goodbyes and waited until everyone had left. The remainder of your shift was uneventful but passed by fast enough. You swept the place a bit before taking your leave. Your colleague was in charge of locking up so you were free to go.

Back at home you plopped down in your couch after taking a bottle of water. You were just about to check your phone when a knock at your door was heard. You were confused since you weren’t expecting anyone and your friends usually leave some sort of message to let you know they were coming over. Not wanting to leave the person behind the door waiting for too long you got up and opened the door. When you saw the people, you looked at your phone to see the message. Before you could even think about closing the door back again you got pushed inside.

-Izzy-  
Hey me and the guys are coming over around 2 ok?  
Also Im bringing some clothes for your ‘exercise’ ;)

You let out an exasperated sigh. You loved your friends, really, but having a make-over for some dumb speed-dating shit was just not your style. And they knew it.

“Oh, c’mon Y/N! Please let us just do our thing.” Tyler begged while giving some puppy eyes.  
When I looked over at Jason an Izzy, they were doing the exact same thing, hands folded for extra effect. You contemplated about what you should do. On one hand you liked your style and didn’t see anything wrong with it. On the other hand, your friends came all the way to your place, it’s another opportunity to hang out, they brought stuff just for you and wanted to genuinely help you out with this thing. Plus, you could probably get some advice on how these things work and you know they wouldn’t do anything you actually don’t like.

“….”

“Fine,” it seemed like they were about to explode, “BUT nothing too revealing, no make-up and NO SKIRTS.” You put extra emphasis on that last part. It’s not like you despised skirts or dresses in fact you thought looked rather good on other people. You just felt uncomfortable in them. The three nodded vigorously, already having expected those demands. They didn’t want to waste any time because they kept in mind your whole ‘time anxiety’ thing, so they got straight to it. They decided to split up the tasks; Jason would take care of any accessories; Tyler would choose your outfit and Izzy would do your hair while reassuring you that everything will be fine. For that you were very grateful. To most you seemed to have everything in control, a total badass and confident. And to an extent that was true, but you were still a nervous wreck inside for most of the time. Especially in public where there are a lot more people.  
There weren’t many options to do with your H/C hair since it was kind of short. You were able to put it in a sort of manbun and that’s it. But Izzy being Izzy, she figured something out. To begin with she straightened your hair but leaving light waves in the them. Then she combed it over to the right side of your head showing your shaved head. You know one of those punk teenage haircuts where they shave the side of their head and just leave some hair on the top of their head? Yeah that’s you and have been since you were an actual teenager. Though when your hair started to grow a bit again it started to cover the shaved part of it. Since your hair was easily done, she tried to beg for only applying a little make-up, but you flat out refused. You didn’t want to come of as rude but you really didn’t want to put on make-up. You were easier with that than skirts, but you just didn’t feel like wearing it.

Not long after Jason returned with some stuff that might suit you. As one came the other went to check up with Tyler. Jason showed you some rings, necklaces and earrings. You weren’t big on the second but he insisted on wearing this one that you got from your brother. Inside the necklace was a picture of your family consisting of you, your brother, parents and dog. The other side had ‘never forget, we love you’ engraved in it. You smiled and nodded. A simple black ring adorned your right middle finger and your ears were decorated with some hangers and clips still showing your emo-side. During the choosing process Jason also tried to boost your confidence by telling dumb stories of him being a clutz around girls during dates.  
A few minutes later and back were Izzy and Tyler with your clothes for the evening. They laid it out on the bed for you to inspect. They were so smart as to make multiple outfits so you had multiple options to choose from. The first one consisted of a white blouse with a brown jacket, ripped blue jeans and some converse. The second outfit seemed to attract your favour; you recognized the camouflage tee as your own and the simple black pants with combats kind of were an obvious win. The last was clearly a gag gift. You picked up the strapless, flashy crop top and tight, leather skirt.

“So? What do you think?” you said trying your best not to burst out laughing. Your friends clearly failed at that, Tyler even wiping a stray tear. You smirked and picked up the second outfit instead and told them you were going to change. The shirt, again, was big on you making it slightly off-shoulder. The pants and combats fit you snug. When you came back out you prepared a quick meal for you and your guests. Some grilled cheese sandwiches couldn’t go wrong. While eating the food you guys just talked and laughed, having a nice time enjoying each other’s company. With a look at your watch, you gave them a knowing glance. They understood and put their plates in the sink.  
You guys said goodbye and you were just about to leave when Tyler stopped you.

“You forgot something.” He handed you a light brown and orange plaid shirt.

You gave him one of your biggest smiles. “Thank you so much!”

“Well you’re not Y/N without some plaid.” Izzy added.

“Now hurry and have some fun!” Jason ended the conversation with that.

You couldn’t be happier with any other group than this one.

On your way to Muffet’s you listened to some music and while waiting at a traffic light you saw a man at the other side of the road. He seemed to be texting someone but what stood out most about him his that he was made entirely of flames. He must have felt your staring because he looked up,

Straight at you

Eyes locking

Quickly looking away again

And you felt your chest do something it hadn’t done in a long time.


	4. The Actual Event

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arriving at Muffet's before anyone else, you were pretty nervous. However to your surprise, everything went quite well even when you talked to the gentleman.  
> Things take a wrong turn at the end of it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again!  
> A bit of a shorter chapter, but something finally happens!  
> Trigger warning, maybe? Your head gets a bit fucked up I guess?  
> So yeah...  
> Thanks for reading and the nice comments, they really help me a lot!

You arrived at Muffet’s about half an hour too early. When Muffet saw you walk in you immediately flashed you a smile and asked what she could get for you. You awkwardly rubbed your neck and said you were here for the speed-dating. Her five eyes widened.

“Oh, my dearie, you’re quite early then. I haven’t even set up the tables and chairs yet.”  
You gave a nervous smile. After just standing there more than was probably socially acceptable you finally asked if you could perhaps help with anything. She gladly let you help by going in the back to grab some extra chairs. You helped set up everything and even sweeping the floor a little although Muffet kept trying to stop you. Eventually she gave up and realised there was no pointing telling you to not help since it seemed it was in your blood to assist anyone that needs it. By the number of chairs there would be about 20 or so participants. You being one of them. Oh god why did you get yourself roped into this? You weren’t ready at all. You tried to calm down by taking a deep breath. When that didn’t work you resorted to the second-  
best option: hiding your anxiety.

Soon it became 5 o’clock and the first few singles started to pour in. Within about 5 or 10 minutes everyone was there except two. The organisers of the event, a cat monster called Cathy and a crocodile monster called Bratty, were just about to start their explanation when the sound of a door opening caught your and most people’s attention. You turned your head for a glance and you saw Papyrus? And the same flame monster from before. You quickly looked back to the monsters at the front.  
Cathy cleared her throat to regain the attention and explained what would happen.

“So yeah, like, we’re gonna, like, give you all a sticker, a paper and a pen. On the sticker you, like, write your name and stick it on your shirt.”

“Yeah,” Bratty chimed in, “and with the paper and pen you write, like, on it if you want to see your partner of that round again. At the end you give the paper to, like, us with your contact info and we’ll contact you which people, like also wanted to stay in contact with, like, you!”

“Each round is gonna be like 4 minutes and guys be a gentlemen and change places instead of the ladies lol.”

“OMG yeah! Okay so that was that now, girls take a seat and guys pick a girl you wanna, like, talk to first!” Bratty finished.

You took one of the chairs more situated in the corner and Papyrus went to sit with you immediately.

“GREETING Y/N! I DIDN’T KNOW YOU WOULD BE ATTENDING THIS EVENT AS WELL.”

“Yeah, well here I am. What brings you here anyway? I didn’t know you were looking for a relationship.”

“RELATIONSHIP? OH NO, I’M JUST HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS. METTATON SAID THIS WOULD BE A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO! BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU?” That name sounded familiar but you couldn’t quite put your finger on it.

“ARE YOU LOOKING FOR MORE FRIENDS AS WELL? PERHAPS WE COULD BE FRIENDS THEN!”

You giggled a bit and replied “But Papyrus, I thought we already were?”

“REALLY!?”

He tried to contain his squeal of excitement semi-succeeding. You giggled again. You then continued to talk about this and that. He told you how he liked the book you read to him and the others today and how lazy his brother is. You remember a shorter skeleton picking him up once or twice. You didn’t talk much, not like you minded. You enjoyed hearing him talk so passionately about things. Four minutes went by and you quickly exchanged contacts before the girls announced the end of the first ‘date’. Like they said the men had to rotate so Papyrus got up and moved on to the next person.  
The next couple of guys were nothing special. They were nice and all but again, you didn’t really plan on being here. It just felt like back and fort banter the whole time, neither of you having much in common. One guy however stood out and not in a good way. You tried to talk as little as possible while he still tried to be flirty, failing and just seeming creepy instead. He tried getting your number multiple times and you bluntly refused every time. It was clear he was getting annoyed and might even get angry but after a piercing glare from you, he swiftly shut his trap and was silent for the remaining minute. Finally, the signal to switch came and relief filled you.

Your little corner suddenly lit up while you were spacing out and the source sat right in front of you. Your heart did that same weird flippy thing again when you saw the fire monster. You hid it with a curt nod and a brief “hi”. He returned the same gesture. The first minute was filled with awkward silence. Grillby decided to do something about it and start conversation.

“Um, my name is Grillby. May I ask for yours?”

“Y/N” you said while pointing at your sticker.

“Oh yeah. Well you have a lovely name.”

“Thanks. Yours pretty cool too.”

“Thank you”

And the quite returned in the small corner. But only briefly when he remembered what he wanted to ask you.

“Do you know Papyrus by any chance? It just seemed that the two of you hit it of so well while you didn’t have that same reaction with any of the others.”

“Have you been watching me?”

This question caught him slightly off-guard. Technically, yes, he had been glancing at you every now and then. He himself wasn’t too sure about the reason but he assumed that it was just something about you that attracted his gaze. Like back at the streetlights. He still couldn’t help the stutter or the light blue in his flames.

“W-well no, but yes. I-I m-mean I- “

Yet again he was caught off-guard. This time by the sound of your snickering.

“I suppose you could say I know Papyrus. He comes every Saturday to the library for Storytime. And well I work there so.”

You could sense the relief he felt when you changed the topic. I mean you couldn’t blame him since you had been sneaking glances at him as well. You found it interesting how he could exist, a being made primarily of oxygen, fuel and heat but it’s probably magic that keeps him going the most. You always did this when you met new monsters. You tried to sort of study them. The same went for Alphys and Papyrus, one handling it very nervously and the other a bit too enthusiastically.  
From there on the both of you got the ball rolling and Grillby made sure that he wasn’t the only one talking the whole time as you were trying to accomplish that like with other guys.

The minutes seemed to fly by and at the same time last a pleasant eternity. You said goodbye but weirdly didn’t want to.  
Grillby had also surprisingly enjoyed your company more than he thought he would. The slight smiles you would try to conceal and the way your eyes seemed to study him. He felt something in his chest but chose to ignore it.

There were a couple more guys before it turned 6 meaning that the session was coming to an end. You said your last goodbyes and then Bratty announced the end of the event. Cathy reminded everyone to fill in the paper the got at the beginning. It seemed pretty basic stuff; your name, phone number and email dress. The next lines were reserved for the names of the people you would like to stay in contact with. You didn’t write Papyrus simply because you now already had his number. You thought you could deliver the piece of paper blank, but then thought whether or not you could perhaps write Grillby’s name. You did have more fun with him than the rest, excluding the cheery skeleton. You kind of wanted to stay in contact, maybe even becoming friends. You said fuck it and wrote his name. in your mind you marched over to either of the two organisers with a new found confidence but in reality, you scribbled out the only name and returned it basically blank. You returned home as fast as you could before anyone could ask any questions. In the end you were on your bathroom floor hyperventilating because you are too much of _**a fucking scaredy cat**_ to actually take action for once.

_**You are useless** _

_**Worthless** _

_**A good-for-nothing idiot** _

_“please stop”_

_**Crybaby** _

That night would be another sleepless one for you.

Grillby was faced with the same dilemma you were just moments ago. Should he write your name or not? What would happen if he did? Did you write his name? so many questions ran through his head, that he completely spaced out for a second. When he snapped out of it, he wrote your name and handed in the paper, thinking that the whole purpose of this was to stay contacted with the people you found interesting. And you certainly had caught his interest.

Back at home his daughter bombarded him with questions. He answered them all in a timely manner and seemingly uninterested.  
“Oh c’mon! did no one pique your interest? Not even slightly?”

“No sorry dear.”

“Ugghhhh!”

And with that the teenager retreated back to her room. Grillby chuckled slightly.  
“I heard that chuckle! So, you did find someone!”

Caught, Grillby sighed.

“…Yes”

“AHA, I knew it!” Fuku did a little victory dance.

“Just use protection, alright?” she said while wiggling her eyebrows. She then left her blue, shocked father behind in the living room, laughing her ass off.

He’s never going to hear the end of this.


	5. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the speed-dating disaster you felt awful, so you went to the one place you could think of to cheer you up.  
> Grillby gets a little surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So sorry this one is a bit later; but hey! it's here!  
> You also get little more of the reader's background here. I'm sorry if they seem too detailed for you.

Like yesterday you didn’t get a wink of sleep. After your little ‘episode’ your eyes were slightly red and swollen, but luckily it wasn’t too noticeable. You refused to get out of bed the first half of the day, wasting it. You were even nearly tempted to call in sick for work. You took the phone in your hands. Should you? But wouldn’t that just burden them? You shouldn’t have applied in the first place. You shake your head, not wanting a replay of yesterday. You took a deep breath in. And out. Eventually you decided against it and got out of bed.  
While making some toast, you checked if you had any work for school. An assignment for one of the easier subjects that you had already finished during class meaning you had nothing to do. You still felt worn out and tried to find something to make you feel better. The whole day lazing around sounded nice, but you knew that wouldn’t work. Lazing around with your friends could’ve been an alternative but you don’t feel like socializing right now. And with no pets to comfort you here, you realised that you could pay a visit to the animal shelter you work at. Yeah, that might work.

It was already nearing 2 PM so you thought now may be a good time to leave. You tiredly put on your shoes and thought over it a couple of times whether or not to take your uniform with you. Thinking you wanted to be efficient you took the bag with an extra water bottle and snacks.  
Arriving at RainShelter (the name of the animal shelter) you went to the back and plopped your bag down. On your way there, some of your co-workers greeted you and some asked if you were finally going to adopt a pet. You tried to smile back, hiding your slight melancholy. Successfully deceiving your colleagues, you went to Murky. Sweet, sweet Murky. You carefully took him from the tank and put him around your neck. Immediately you relaxed, feeling the familiar scales on your skin. And you were pretty sure Murky was also pleased to be with you. Some customers gave you weird looks. To them it seemed like some random girl just stormed in the store, went to the ‘staff-only’ section, came back only to take a snake from its habitat. To your relief, Cassidy explained to them you were an employee here You did not want to deal with anybody at the moment. Even though you work here you still asked if it was okay to take the reptile to the back with you. With a ‘sure’ you gladly strode back to your working space. It was really simple; a desk and chair with some monitors that are connected to the security cameras. One looked directly at the front entrance, watching the counter and another at the back where the dogs and cats were as well. A third camera watched over the reptiles and the last one was for the fish and rodents. So yeah it was pretty bland.

While you sat in your chair, Murky was happily moving over your shoulders and neck, trying to get comfortable. Once he seemed to get in a good spot, he put his head down and seemed to have fallen asleep after just a few moments. You found it adorable and thought he had the right idea. So following Murky’s example you closed your eyes for a little nap. You hoped your co-workers would wake you up when they’d leave but you were pretty confident that they would. Having Murky just with you was an enormous stress reliever. How you loved him. You were this close to just take him home. But you didn’t and at times you would even question yourself on why. I mean you had the space; you knew the requirements and how to take care of him. Yet for some reason you just couldn’t. For now, you cleared you mind and let the moment sink.  
It turned 5:30 and you were woken up by your phone receiving a notification. After seeing the time, you decided to place Murky in his terrarium again, although a little reluctant, before checking who disturbed you. Returning to your office, you grabbed a snack from your bag and brought your phone up. You apparently had received an email from that Bratty girl from yesterday. ‘Wow that’s faster than I had expected’ Opening the email it read:

_Hey Y/N!_  
_Soooo these guys wanted to stay in contact with you! If you want you can reach them with their information. Have fun!_  
_Love,_  
_Bratty (And Cathy!)_

_-Papyrus; CoolSkeleton01@undernet.com 555/awesomebones_

_-Luke; lukegeriandhart@gmail.com 555/thisguy_

_-Grillby: GrillbyFire@undernet.com 555/hothot_

When you read Papyrus’ name you chuckled, finding it slightly ridiculous he still wrote your name down considering you already exchanged numbers. You slightly remembered Luke. He was sweet and nicer than all the other guys you had met there. But then your eyes went over the name you didn’t dare write. He wanted to stay in contact with you. Your heart skipped a beat. You were not expecting this, like, at all. You just stared at the screen not knowing how to react. Time went by faster than you realised and it was already 7.  
You manager knocked on the door and opened it.

“Oh, you’re awake already! Great well our shift is over, so it’s your turn now.” She winked.

“Alright. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight”

And just like that she left. Before actually starting you changed into the uniform. You could probably get away with not wearing it but having done military service for 3 years makes wearing a uniform feel almost safe and familiar. That’s also the reason why you chose this part-time job. Being in the military was a really fun part of your life though you never got deployed in some foreign country for real. Every year half of the base would go to an abandoned, private site for practice. The other half would go later in the year. You definitely knew how to fight and use a gun. As a soldier you were climbing the ranks in good time, improving your skills. You had never been in better shape than back then and never will be either. Being in the top ranks you received a lot of respect from both your peers as underlings. Though everyone always tried to get along, crack jokes and just have a jolly time. It wasn’t always serious but neither was it all fun and games. It was still the military.

You were getting side-tracked. _‘Focus, Y/N.’_

The night offered nothing special. The animals were asleep or just kept quiet. It was peaceful.

Somewhere else in town a monster got the same email you got not long ago. He went to check it and saw a lot of names and numbers. Grillby seemed to be popular for some reason he didn’t understand. While he went through the information, he weirdly enough felt a small ache when he didn’t see your name there. Did you not enjoy your time together? But he had thought you seemed quite relaxed in his presence. Maybe he was wrong? Maybe you didn’t want anything to do with him. Was it because he was a monster? No, that couldn’t be it. You seemed so friendly with Paps it would be illogical. He sighed and closed the email. Maybe you just forgot. Or you were in a hurry and couldn’t fill in the form.

Another sigh.

He was just making excuses at this point. And why did he even care? He barely knew you for Asgore’s sake. Yet that little pang in his soul still stung.  
Fuku sneaked up on her father.

“Boo!”

Grillby turned around and faked a soft scream, throwing his hands in the air.

“So, got any luck? Any ladies?”

“See for yourself” Grillby said while re-opening the message.

“Holy shit! Dad, how are you so popular?!”

“Language, young lady.”

“Sorry”

They discussed the women Grillby had been able to ‘reel in’ using his daughter’s words. He told her about them one by one. Then Fuku would ‘analyse’ the woman based on her father’s description and determined if they were good enough for him or not. She then made a list of the women suitable and told her father to maybe call them or message. But Grillby merely stated that he had no interest in dating any woman (or man).

With an exasperated groan Fuku left.

The next day around noon he got another email. He really wanted to ignore it, thinking it wasn’t important anyway, but curiosity got the best of him. And he was happy that he did.

_To: GrillbyFire@undernet.com_  
_From: Y/N.Y/L/N@gmail.com_

_Subject: Meet up?_


	6. Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Grillby exchange mails about meeting up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW it's been a while! Sorry that I haven't updated in some time, but some stuff came up and I got busier. However I still hope you enjoy this chapter!

After your shift had ended you headed home, like always. And like always, nothing happened. Your mood had gotten a bit better after spending the day with the animals and you guessed that you could get some sleep tonight. Considering how the past two days you hadn’t closed your eyes once, you were fast asleep when you plopped on your bed, not really bothering changing into your pyjamas.  
Morning came and your alarm rudely woke you up at 9. You hit the snooze button not caring right now. Classes started around noon so you were able to sleep in for just a bit. About half an hour passes when you decide to get up. With the usual morning routine done, you get ready to leave. Your college is a bit farther from your place so you always end up leaving quite early.

You arrive at the school gates and enter, immediately heading for a bench in the shadows. You always did this while waiting for Jason and he knew that. It would always be the same bench, under that same tree, giving that same shadow. It was nice to just sit there and wait for the classes to actually start. To fill that time, you took your sketchbook and started drawing something or finishing one of the previous ones. Sometimes though you’d be working on an assignment that wasn’t finished or you forgot about.   
While you were busy sketching, you didn’t notice someone sitting beside you. Only when you heard a cough you felt the presence of another human next to you. Turning to see who sat there you weren’t surprised to see the familiar face of Jason. You put your stuff back in your bag and turned to him to talk for the remaining minutes.

“Hey Jason.”

“Hey. So?”

“So what?”

“You know. How did it go? You mingle with the singles.” He nudged your shoulder, saying that last part. Your response was a groan followed by a reluctant ‘fine’.

“Oh, come on. Did nothing interesting happen? Tell me about! You know Izzy and Tyler are going to bug you about anyways.”

After him doing an attempt at puppy eyes and you giving him a stink eye, you told him briefly what had happened; how it all worked, the people you met (and how most of them were just plain boring) and your little run-in with Papyrus. You honestly didn’t want to mention Grillby since he’d probably pick up on your awkwardness while talking about him. Which would end up in him questioning you and then you’d slip up and say something about the episode, making him worried and you really didn’t want that.  
Instead of all that happening he asked to see that email with the contacts of the guys who wrote your name. You didn’t think much of it and were about to show him when a specific sound signalled the start of classes. You excused yourself and told him you’d see him again lunch. While walking you turned around for a small wave. He waved back, walking to his assigned classroom. You two don’t really share that much classes because of the difference in majors, but Mondays you don’t share any classes at all. The subjects weren’t too special or hard to follow; math, English and stuff like that wasn’t really interesting and you had to repeat everything the teacher said in order to not space out.  
Eventually lunch came and you immediately went to ‘your’ table. It was one of the smaller ones and separated from the others. You already saw Jason waiting for you, a smile on his face seeing you approach. You greeted him and didn’t wait to dig in. It wasn’t anything special, just some sandwiches, you were just hungry. You were chowing down when he asked for your phone. You gave him a confused look and he reminded you he wanted to see the email.

“Oh yeah! Hold on.” You went to your emails and showed him. He took a hold of it to inspect it thoroughly. A smile was creeping on his face.

“Ohoho, it seems like there are some people interested in you. How about telling me about them?”

“Well for starters, Papyrus is the skeleton I told you about before. And Luke is just a guy who was marginally nicer than the others. End of story.”

“What about Grillby?”

Your face fell. How could you be so stupid as to forget he was in the email as well!? Jason clearly noticed your reaction and that grin grew wider.

“Why so silent? Is he someone special? Did you have a _‘fun’_ time with him?” he winked when saying the word fun.

“Jason!” you whisper-yelled, feeling some heat seep into your cheeks.

“Hahaha! I’m just kidding. But be honest here. Either something horrible happened and you hate the guy OR you actually are interested in him and just embarrassed. So, which is it?”

In all honestly it did end up horrible but that’s only because you made it to be like that. And the actual thing was pleasant, it was only the end that sucked. Grillby was nice and did nothing to make you feel uncomfortable. You couldn’t deny that the man was kind and gentle and polite and funny and cute.

**STOP YOU’RE TRAILING OFF AGAIN**

After regaining your common sense, you could feel that the blush had intensified. And you still hadn’t answered your friend at the opposite side of the table. He luckily helped you snap out of it.

“Hellooo? Anyone home?”

You swatted his hand out of your face. “Yeah, I’m still here.”

“So? I didn’t receive an answer yet.”

“I-I guess…he was… fun… to be with.” Your voice became quieter the more you spoke, hinting at your embarrassment.

“Then why don’t you message him? Or call him even?”

“What?! No! Wouldn’t that be weird? To just get called by a person you only met once? and why should I in the first place?”

“Well the alternative is waiting for him to contact you.”

“Uh… yeah.”

“What did you do?”

“W-What do you mean? Why would you just assume that I did something?”

You tried to cover up your nervousness with laughter, pretty much failing.

“You did give him your information, right?”

“…”

“Right?”

“Umm… no?”

“Oh my god Y/N.”

He groaned in his hand.

“Sorry I just- “you tried to come up with a valid excuse. “I was just in a hurry is all and forgot to write his name on the paper before handing it in.”

“Well alright then, but that does mean that you are going to have contact him.”

Now it was your turn to groan.

“Come on Y/N! You said you had a fun time! Don’t you wanna stay in contact?”  
After some meaningless bickering back and forth, you gave in.

“Fine! I’ll write him an email or something. But you gotta help me because I wouldn’t know what to even write.”

“Alright well, how about meeting up with him?”

“What?! That’s too soon! Right?”

“Y/N. It’ll be alright so you don’t have to be scared, okay? You always say how you want to talk and socialize but if you don’t take action then you’ll always be too afraid. You have to get out of your comfort zone to accomplish that goal.”

Silence. You let that all sink in. He was right. You were fearless when it came to most things, so talking to a fellow human being shouldn’t be a problem right? And besides Grillby was a monster so maybe this would be easier. Monsters don’t judge as harshly as humans after all.

“Alright.”

You were filled  
With **Determination.**

“Great! Trust me, it’s for the best. Izzy and Tyler wouldn’t have been so patient.”

A laugh left the both of you.  
You took your phone and opened a new concept. With some (a lot) of help from Jason, you were able to write a proper message.

_To: GrillbyFire@undernet.com_   
_Subject: Meet Up?_

_Hey Grillby,_  
 _It’s me, Y/N, from the speed-dating event last Saturday._  
 _So, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to hang out some time? I don’t know what times work best for you, but I think that maybe a Sunday would be good. If you have any ideas of_ where to meet up, the time and maybe the day if Sunday doesn’t work, just let me know.  
 _Looking forward to it!_

_Y/N Y/L/N_

You were unsure of that last line but Jason insisted on putting it there. With a LOT of mental preparation and encouraging (and mild threatening) from Jason you hit send. And there it goes. Now you could only wait for a reply. And hope it’s not one of rejection.

Grillby was delighted when you read the words you send him. A bit too eager he thought about where to go, what to do and when. The suggestion of Sunday wasn’t bad. So of course, he went looking for one that was available. Looking at a calendar he saw his daughter’s birthday was coming up this Sunday. For a split second he thought of bringing you but dismissed the idea immediately. Having you come over this his daughter’s birthday would be awkward and probably uncomfortable. You barely knew each other and more so when it came to you and Fuku. He pondered for a long while until he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around he saw a very smug fire kid. Looking over to his laptop he quickly connected the dots that he had left the email open and Fuku had obviously read it.

“So, you’re going a date huh? And here I thought you weren’t interested.”  
Her grin only grew wider at Grillby’s stammering.

“Where are you gonna take her? And when? Ooh, can I meet her?! I have to evaluate her to make sure she’s right for you!”  
Nothing but incoherent strings of words continued to leave the poor monster’s mouth. And with a quick glance at the calendar behind her father, she came up with the same idea he had dismissed a few moments ago.

“You could invite her to my birthday!”

Finally, he regained the ability to speak

“What? No! I can’t just invite her to such a personal event when I’ve only met her once. Besides, she’d probably just be uncomfortable being surrounded by people she doesn’t know. And I don’t want to ruin your birthday by bringing some random woman to YOUR party.”

“But daaad, you wouldn’t ruin anything at all! I saw how you were smiling before. If you could smile like that again during my party, that would the best birthday gift you could get me! 

Pleeeeaaaaassssseee!”  
Fuku was basically begging at this point and Grillby couldn’t deny the arguments she gave. She’s too smart for her own good.

“Okay then.”

Fuku’s face lit up with happiness and jumped around like she just won a million dollars. Grillby chuckled at the sight. Seeing his daughter happy was the most important thing in the world and if bringing you would give that result than he’d gladly oblige.

_To: Y/N.Y/L/N@gmail.com_   
_Subject: Meet up_

_Hello Y/N_  
 _If it’s alright with you I would like to meet you this Sunday. It is my daughter’s birthday then and she insisted that I invite you. It will be held at my bar, Grillby’s, from 2.30PM to 7PM._ _Of course, you may leave earlier if you wish. Since you two have never met before you don’t have to bring a present. However, I completely understand if the suggestion_ makes you _uncomfortable and would like to hang out another time. If so please let me know this week._

_Sincerely_   
_Grillby Fire_

Looking over the email he thought it may be a bit too formal but before he had another chance Fuku clicked on send and away it went.


End file.
